


towards the sun

by freckleder



Series: among the stars [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Office, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-03
Updated: 2017-03-03
Packaged: 2018-09-28 02:24:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10066154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/freckleder/pseuds/freckleder
Summary: Yamaguchi hadn't expected to find a job right away after finishing university, but he was thrown in at the deep end sooner than he would've imagined when a big company granted him an employment probation period of three months. Now all he had to do was not mess it up.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is my fic for [ maddy ](http://brokuro.tumblr.com) for the hq rarepair exchange 2017, i hope you enjoy it!!
> 
> A huge thanks goes to Pon, who helped me out a lot in the making of this fic!!

Tadashi looked in the mirror and back at him gazed a very nervous version of himself, with his hair oddly flat and a suit that was clearly not fitting right. He had just graduated from university, his diploma was neatly hanging on one of the walls in the living room, and after sending out an uncountable number of job application letters he had finally gotten an invitation for an interview. That the company was not of the small sort had done nothing for his nerves – the interview had been a blur to him – but for some reason they had called him back and said that he could start working for a three-month probation period and if they were content with his work they’d further employ him.

He was wearing the same suit from the interview, a dark grey one with a blueish undertone, that his mom had gotten him for his graduation. He had worn it three times if he counted this day. Tadashi had worked at part-time jobs before, but sorting products in shelves at a supermarket was not the same as starting your first day of work at a high-end company.

Tadashi had tried combing his hair and flattening it with hair gel, an idea he definitely hadn’t gotten from googling stock images with titles such as “professional business man”. He gave himself a once-over and decided that this was the best he could do. He smoothed his suit down one more time before grabbing his bag and heading out.

He arrived at the company twenty minutes too early, not really sure where his department was located. The interview had been held in the human resources department in the basement, but he needed to be somewhere else.

Tadashi looked at the walls, hoping to find a layout of the building, while other businessmen and women rushed past him. It didn’t take him long to figure out that he had to go to the second floor so he headed for the elevator. In there he took his chance and wiped his sweaty hands on his pants for the last time.

A three-month probation time. He wasn’t allowed to mess something up.

The doors of the elevator opened with a swish and Tadashi stepped outside. He followed the sign until he stood in front of a door. He didn’t hesitate and opened it, stepping into the marketing department.

Three people had already arrived and where chatting while they waited for work to start. As soon as Tadashi had entered the room they fell silent and looked over to him.

“My name is Yamaguchi Tadashi, from today on I’ll be joining you in this department.” He made a tiny bow while he introduced himself and flashed them a smile.

“I’m Misaki Hana, nice to meet you.” A woman with short brown hair greeted him with a curt nod and shook his hand. “The person in charge of showing you around will arrive shortly.”

The other two people introduced themselves as Futakuchi Kenji and Ennoshita Chikara. They exchanged a few pleasantries while more people arrived. Tadashi did his best to remember all the names and the faces they belonged to.

When the door opened and a familiar face appeared in the doorstep Misaki got up from her chair and walked up to him. Tadashi got the cue that he should follow her.

“This is Oikawa-san, he’s the project manager of your team.”

Tadashi introduced himself again. He had seen Oikawa before. He had been there during his interview but he had never asked questions. He simply sat next to the person interviewing him and listened to the conversation. Once in a while he had jotted something down, which had not been good for Tadashi’s nerves, but he never chimed in or spoke aside from a short introduction.

“I’m glad to see that you passed the interview. Let’s work well together.”

Tadashi nodded quickly. He watched as Oikawa greeted the rest of the staff and made himself a coffee. Tadashi wasn’t sure if he should wait until he was done or follow him, so he awkwardly trailed along behind him.

“You can make yourself a coffee if you want one too,” he said when he noticed Tadashi next to him. “Most of us bring our own cups, so the white ones don’t belong to anyone. Feel free to bring one yourself if you feel like it.”

“Yes, all right.” He was jittery enough without caffeine in his body but now was his chance to learn how the coffee maker worked.

“The coffee is here,” Oikawa opened a drawer and closed it again after Tadashi had gotten a good look,” you can get water from the tab if it’s empty, and we take turns for buying coffee.”

Tadashi nodded and grabbed a cup. He carefully placed it on the small platform and chose a medium cup. He added a bit of milk from the fridge, no sugar.

“Let’s finish our coffee before I start showing you around so you can relax a bit,” Oikawa said and leaned against the counter. He had taken off his jacket, which he had thrown over his left arm, and stirred his coffee with the other one.

Tadashi nodded again. Soon his head would fall off from all the nodding he had done so far. He used the short moment of silence to steal a glance at Oikawa. He wore a nice suit, Tadashi could tell from the way it fitted him, with his sleeves casually rolled up and clean black shoes. His hair was combed to the sides but lots of strands were sticking up, defying gravity and the idea of office dress code that Tadashi had imagined. He made a mental note to leave the hair gel in the drawer for the future.

Unsure whether he should be making conversation or not, he shifted his weight from one foot to the other and drank his coffee. It burned his tongue but he kept taking small sips because he wouldn’t know what else to do with his hands.

They were interrupted by Oikawa’s phone ringing. He picked up and had a short conversation about a meeting in the afternoon but Tadashi wasn’t entirely sure what it was about. After that Oikawa finished his coffee and put it in the sink.

“Let me know when you’re done with your coffee and we’ll start the tour.” He flashed Tadashi a smile, which made Tadashi linger with more curiosity than expected.

He quickly drank the last sip, already accepting the fate of his burnt tongue, and put it in the sink as well. He followed Oikawa from the kitchen area to the offices.

They walked past multiple smaller offices and entered the large room at the end. There were half a dozen desks, always two facing each other.

Oikawa led him to the only empty desk, facing Ennoshita, if Tadashi remembered the name correctly.

“Yamaguchi-san, this will be your desk from now on. You can leave your things here for now”, he said and waited while Tadashi put his jacket and bag down.

“Oikawa-san, I wanted to ask you something. It doesn’t really matter who’s sitting opposite of me, but could we possibly-“ Ennoshita was interrupted before he could even finish the sentence.

“I’m not giving this desk to Akaashi-san, you won’t get any work done.” He raised an eyebrow and looked at Ennoshita as if he didn’t know why he even proposed it. Akaashi, who was apparently sitting at one of the desks next to them, gave him a chiding look from the side.

Ennoshita sighed in defeat. “Fine, then not. Yamaguchi-san, I’m glad to have you with us on our team! Feel free to ask me if you need anything.”

“Likewise and thank you very much.”

He stood in between his desk and the door, not sure if Oikawa’s tour was over and he was supposed to sit down or not.

“You can start working at your desk tomorrow, today you’ll be following me. It takes a day for the IT-department to set up an account for you, so you’ll get that by today in the afternoon or tomorrow in the morning,” Oikawa explained. “So for now we’re going to continue our tour.”

Oikawa led him around and introduced him to the other staff members in the large room, then he showed him where his own office was and who the other separate rooms belonged to. He learned that there were different teams and he was working with Ennoshita, Akaashi and someone named Yachi as Oikawa’s team.

They walked up to another part of the building to one of the meeting rooms. “We’re having a conference with a few people from the sales department now, you will try and follow as well as possible. Here you have some paper and a pen,” he pulled a few empty sheets out of his folder and handed him one of the pens in his chest pocket,” so take a few notes and ask me about things that are unclear later.”

Tadashi nodded. He was thankful that he had a day to observe the workplace atmosphere. Everyone seemed friendly so far, but then again he hadn’t spoken all too much with anyone. He watched someone from sales holding a short presentation and he jotted down some notes.

After it was over Oikawa told him to get his lunch box, so they could discuss the meeting while eating.

“Did parts of the meeting sound familiar to you? I’m sure you had to work in groups and discuss issues like these in university?” he asked while they were sitting in the kitchen.

Tadashi watched him unwrap the package of a store-bought lunch box while his fingers thrummed nervously against the desk. He knew that Oikawa was testing his skills and wanted to see how much he knew from university and how quickly he could pick new things up.

Oikawa had him explain most of the procedures and why they were necessary, how they be changed and which effects that would have on the company. He stepped in where Tadashi wavered and clarified what was yet unknown to him. Which was very often.

He was freed from the interrogation when other employees started to trickle into the kitchen to get some coffee and joined them for lunch. He had expected to be sitting alone since he didn’t know anyone, but his co-workers flocked around him curiously. Yachi, a very nice woman with blond hair, introduced herself to him and immediately started to engage him in a conversation.

“It’s such a relief that you’re here, we were short on people for almost two months,” she said with a smile.

“We’re going for food and drinks to celebrate you starting to work here on Wednesday, save the date,” Ennoshita chimed in while he was eating his lunch.

Tadashi smiled. “Thank you so much, I’m looking forward to it.” He stirred his cup of coffee, the third one of the day if he counted his breakfast coffee, and glanced at Oikawa ever so often to see when they would leave.

The door swung open once more and Akaashi stepped in. He was about to sit down when he stopped at the counter. “Who left their mug in the sink?”

Tadashi’s gaze was immediately upon Oikawa. It was the two of them who had left theirs in it in the morning, but everyone else was staring at him too.

“Sorry, that was me,” he said nonchalantly and moved over to get his mug out.

Tadashi got up and followed him. “I’m very sorry, the other one is mine.”

Akaashi shook his head. “Don’t go and teach him your bad habits right on the first day,” he said to Oikawa. Then he turned to Tadashi. “Please don’t worry about it. Right here is the dish washer, it’s quicker if you put your mugs in there right away. “

“Yes, of course. I’m going to make sure to do that in the future.”

Tadashi spent the afternoon filing material into different folders. Ennoshita explained to him how the filing system worked, what had to be filed weekly and what needed to be printed right and stored right away.

Oikawa came to check up on him from time to time but that summed up his afternoon. Printing out documents, punching holes in them and putting them in the right folder. The air smelled of ink and the freshly printed sheets were warm against his skin. The first papercuts weren’t long in coming. Tadashi tried to cover his finger with a tissue but it limited his motions. Yachi immediately helped him out with some band aids when she saw his dilemma.

The train was packed on the way home. At work Tadashi had been in a constant state of heightened consciousness, of his own actions and of those of his co-workers. Now that he came to rest and didn’t have to constantly try and remember where to put the green files again, how the security code worked or the way to the basement to get new ink for the printer, he realized how exhausted he was. It was a good exhaustion, just like a work-out that got your blood pumping and left you with satisfaction. He had gotten a good impression of the company so far and he hadn’t messed up. He counted that day as a win. He counted his choices as a win.

After a generous dinner and a long, warm shower he had a lengthy phone call with his best friend Tsukishima and told him everything in detail.

“You should get a few new suits too,” he said after Tadashi had told him how good Oikawa’s suit had looked compared to his own one.  

Tadashi sighed. “I know…but they are so expensive, especially fitted ones.”

He looked around his small apartment. The painting was starting to chip off in the corners, most of the tiles in the kitchen area were chipped and the door into the bathroom didn’t close properly without slamming it shut. A new apartment was something he’d much rather save his money up for, than suits.

“A new suit will last you for a long time, there are ones that aren’t too expensive. I know a few good stores if you want to head into the city this weekend,” Tsukki suggested.

“Sure, let’s check them out.”

Tadashi went to bed early that evening. He was tired and he didn’t want to be sleep deprived during his first few days at work. His probation time wasn’t over yet and he wanted to start harbouring good habits early.

 

* * *

 

With Tadashi’s account being set up the next day he was already able to do a bit more actual work. When someone was needed to bring documents to another office or something had to be filed he was still the man for it, but Ennoshita gave him an introduction to the programs they were using. He wasn’t familiar with most of them. It took him a few tries to get everything right but soon he started taking notes of the instructions so he could look them up at any time.

Ennoshita was patient and explained things over and over again if he needed to. Oikawa peeked in every two to three hours, either to see how he was doing or to give him small tasks. He’d pick him up and bring him along to meetings, where his job was to observe and learn.

On Wednesday they didn’t go straight home. Yachi had reserved a table for them at a nearby izakaya that they frequented. Tadashi thought that only their team would come along but the entire department was there. They had a separate room for themselves and it was still crowded.

They all ordered drinks and food. Tadashi had a look around while they were waiting. He was sitting in between Yachi and Akaashi. Ennoshita sat to his right, followed by Oikawa who was deeply in a conversation with Futakuchi and Misaki. They were both of the same rank as Oikawa so Tadashi assumed that they all started working at the company at the same time.

After a short speech that welcomed him to the company they started eating.

“The food here is amazing, you picked a good place to eat,” he said to Yachi.

She looked at him with bright eyes and a big smile. “I’m so happy to hear that, this is your party after all.” Then she accidently knocked over her drink with her elbow.

Tadashi intuitively reached for the glass, but it was too late. Sweet, sticky juice was dripping off the table, on his lap.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” Yachi’s mouth was wide open in shock as she reached for a clean napkin from the table and handed it to him.

 “It’s no big deal, that could’ve happened to anyone,” Tadashi said after she kept apologizing. He patted the napkin on his pants but all he did was smudge it and leave an even bigger stain. “I’ll head to the bathroom and try to clean it with a bit of water.”

He followed the directions of the signs to the bathroom. It was small, only contained one stall and one of the lights was only flickering weakly. He looked at himself and the stain on his pants. His hair was messy, he had decided to leave it in its natural state, and his shirt had gotten progressively more wrinkled over the day. He held a few of the paper towels under the tap and tried removing the stain with water when the door swung open and Oikawa stepped in.

Tadashi nodded and stepped aside to let him squeeze past but all he did was move to the sink.

“How have you been liking the get-together so far?” he asked while he turned the tap on.

“It’s been very nice, I’m very thankful for everyone that helped putting it together.” Tadashi was being genuine, so far it had been a pleasant surprise.

Oikawa laughed. “I’m sure Yachi-san would be happy to hear that.”

“I already told her, that’s how my pants ended up like this,” Tadashi said. He was still trying to clean his pants in a desperate attempt to remove the stain. Maybe he could still wear the suit the next day. He _really_ needed more suits.

“I’m sure she only meant well.” Oikawa checked the temperature of the water. It was slowly dripping in the sink, echoing in the tiny room. Oikawa formed a cup with his hands and caught some of it in them. He splashed the cold water on his face, then rubbed his balms over his temples and down his cheeks. Tadashi’s eyes followed a droplet running down his neck and disappearing behind the collar of his shirt.

He quickly tore his gaze away when he noticed Oikawa look up into the mirror. He had been rubbing the paper towel so frequently against his leg that it had started to tear. He quickly threw it in the trash.

Oikawa patted his face one last time before turning around to Tadashi. “Now that everyone has finished eating you should use the chance and mingle a bit. Get to know the others, talk to our boss. Everyone is a lot more casual here than in the office so it’s a good opportunity to introduce yourself again, just a little advice on my part.”

“Oh, thank you. I’ll try and do so.” Tadashi quickly nodded a few times, thrown off by the sudden change of topic.

Oikawa looked at him with a canny smile, one corner of his mouth slightly raised. He walked out of the bathroom, holding the door open for Tadashi.

Back at the table little groups of people had formed, all deep in conversation. He was about to sit down at his seat when he saw Oikawa looking at him and raising his eyebrows. He nodded curtly to show that he understood and walked a few steps further to Futakuchi’s team. They made some space for him and included him in the conversation without much hesitation. He had been introduced to all of them at some point during his first three days but he hadn’t exchanged more than a few words with them. He followed Oikawa’s advice and tried to talk to as many people as possible.

He especially made sure to talk to his boss. She was being very casual and asked him about university, how he liked the work place and his team so far.

Everyone was on their second or third drink when Tadashi made it back to his original seat. He was feeling a bit tipsy as well but he knew better than to get drunk on his first week of work so he was only taking small sips of his drink. Yachi greeted him with a big smile on her face and her cheeks were red like strawberries. If Akaashi and Ennoshita were tipsy he couldn’t tell, their expressions were still the same. They had moved together, sitting side by side, so Tadashi was sitting on the very right. So it happened that Futakuchi moved an arm around his neck and pulled him over to him, Misaki and Oikawa. Tadashi could tell that he was already beyond the point of being tipsy.

“Yamaguchi-san, remember when you were waiting for Oikawa-san to arrive for the first day at the office?” he asked and shot a smirk in Oikawa’s direction.

Misaki, who was sitting next to him, tried to restrain herself from laughing.

“Yes?” Tadashi said, not sure where he was going with this yet. Of course he remembered, it had only been three days ago.

“And when he came in he was all cool like ‘I’m glad to see that you passed the interview’ as if he hadn’t known when he was actually the one that insisted on picking you.” Futakuchi and Misaki met eyes and they both couldn’t hold back anymore.

Oikawa had one arm propped against the table while resting his head against it and mumbled something that sounded strongly like _“Idiots, both of them.”_

Tadashi blinked. He wasn’t sure how to respond to that but he couldn’t talk much through their laughter. Then he met Oikawa’s gaze and he didn’t know whether to look away or not. He tilted his head to the side in question.

Oikawa rolled his eyes and leaned forward to talk to Tadashi. It had gotten progressively louder as the evening had moved forward. Their shoulders were only inches apart. “They are exaggerating. I read the master thesis of all applicants and yours stood out the most to me, that’s it.”

“Oh…I didn’t know that that was included in the interviewing process.”

“I like to be thorough. We don’t often add new members to our staff.”

Tadashi was still wondering whether that was meant as a compliment or a threat to better not disappoint him, on his way home. Most of the others had split up in smaller groups and moved on to other bars. Tadashi had managed to find an excuse to go home earlier. He had taken part in a fair share of drinking parties in university, enough to know his limits, so he knew that it wasn’t a smart idea to drag the evening out for too long when a workday was following. He couldn’t imagine that anyone would get much work done with a hangover but maybe they had acquired a new level of alcohol tolerance.

Or maybe not. When he came into the office he found Ennoshita at his desk, holding his probably throbbing head and staring at the black coffee in front of him as if he was reconsidering his life choices.  Oikawa, usually dressed in a sleek suit without a single wrinkle, was still wearing his shirt from the day before and told him in a quiet voice to ask Akaashi to give him some work for the day because he needed rest. Akaashi was looking considerably good, the only sign of a sleepless night were the bags under his eyes.

“I have some data that needs to be revised, I’ll split the work in half,” he said while he blinked a few times in order not to lose focus.

Tadashi nodded. “All right. Should we do something about the others? I’m pretty sure Oikawa-san is still wearing the same clothes as yesterday.”

Akaashi shrugged unaffectedly. “I wouldn’t worry about them, they’ll be fine in a few hours.”

Tadashi couldn’t resist and made one short round to ask everyone if they needed aspirin or coffee., then he helped Akaashi with the list. He tried his best although he didn’t quite understand what exactly he was doing, while listening to Ennoshita’s suffering.

When he ran into Oikawa in the afternoon he was surprisingly dressed in a new shirt, sleeves rolled up again, and the smell of smoke and alcohol was gone.

 

* * *

 

The following weeks were a constant stream of apologies. _“I’m sorry.” “It won’t happen again.” “I’ll make sure to do it right next time.”_

Tadashi expected not to know everything from the start but he wouldn’t have thought that it would make him feel so small and unimportant. He was lying in his bed, staring at the ceiling. The light of the lamp was hurting his tired eyes.

Nobody was giving him a hard time for doing things wrong. At the moment his job was being assistant to everyone on his team which wasn’t something bad, but he wanted to be useful. What point had there been to going to university when everything they did at work was so much different from it anyways? Tadashi felt like talking to Tsukki but he was in a whiny mood so he didn’t call him and let the phone flop down on his stomach instead. He was improving but not fast enough.

On the day his three-month probation period ended Oikawa called him in his office. They had never discussed whether he was interested in employing Tadashi further. It wasn’t a topic he could easily bring up by himself and Oikawa never addressed it. Until now.

He sat at his desk, polished and put together as always, and looked expectantly at Tadashi. “As you know today is the last day of the third month you’re working here.”

Tadashi nodded shortly. One of the things he had learned that was not to appear overly eager and nod too much, it made him seem even more like a newbie. “Yes, I’m aware of that.”

He fumbled with the small buttons at the end of his sleeves.

Oikawa leaned back in his chair and it made a loud creaking noise. He was regarding Tadashi with a calculating expression.

“So?”

Tadashi blinked. “So…?”

“So, do you want to stay at this company? I’m sure you must’ve made up your mind, you had three months to think about it.” Oikawa picked a pen up and started twirling it in his hand.

“I-I want to keep working here!”, he said, a bit too loud but he didn’t have his voice completely under control.

Oikawa stopped twirling the pen for a second and reached to his right for a document. “Great, then here is the contract.” He flipped it around so Tadashi could properly read it and handed it to him.

He grabbed it, hoping that his hands weren’t as visibly shaking as he thought they were.

“You don’t have to sign it immediately, take your time to read it properly and then bring it back to me.” The pen was spinning again.

Tadashi glanced at the contract and then put it in his lap. He’d read through it during lunch break.

“If you have any questions regarding the contract now is a good time to ask them.”

“I can’t think of any now but I’ll keep that in mind.”

It was quiet for a moment and Tadashi wasn’t sure whether that was his cue to leave or not. Just when he decided that the break was long enough for him to get up and go Oikawa spoke again.

“You didn’t think we’d employ you further?”

Tadashi shrugged. “I wasn’t sure. Maybe. Of course I was hoping for the best but it’s not a decision that I can make.”

“Don’t you remember when we went drinking after work when you began working. I already told you there that we don’t often add new members to our staff. Don’t think too little of yourself. That’s all for now.”

Tadashi took a deep breath once he closed the door behind him. He hadn’t forgotten, he just hadn’t been sure if he’d be the one. He glanced at the contract in his right hand.

 

* * *

 

He was assigned a part of the new project at their team meeting the following day. Usually he was just observing when they talked about new marketing strategies so he hadn’t expected to be included right away.

“Everyone of us has given you a small part of their work so you can familiarize yourself with every aspect of what we do”, Oikawa explained as he handed him a bunch of sheets with instructions. “I put these together yesterday, it’s a small guide for the programs that you’ll have to work with.”

Tadashi skimmed through it when he sat at his desk. Most of it was written on a computer but occasionally small notes were added in a scribbly handwriting. He wondered when Oikawa had had the time to write it. He had noticed over the past months that he had never seen him leave the office, he always stayed longer than any other staff member.

Once he had stayed overtime because Ennoshita had told him that he needed something done that day and left him alone with the work. When he was all alone in the office, panicking because he didn’t know how to get it done, Oikawa stumbled upon him and helped him out. It had been almost 6pm when he left. Did he always stay that long?

Sitting on the chair at his desk has become a familiar feeling and he had become more aware of his surroundings. The office had surprisingly many plants – once he accidently knocked a pot over – which all seemed to be taken care off by someone. He had asked Ennoshita if he should water them but he told him that it wasn’t necessary.

Tadashi opened the instructions and started with the most urgent task. He was working meticulously, not wanting to botch the first important work he got to do.

When he brought his work to Yachi early in the afternoon he felt what it was like to be useful to the team for the first time.

“Thank you so much, these documents are really important for me to continue,” she said while she flipped through them. “I didn’t expect you to be done so soon. Oh, I don’t want to say that I thought you would work slowly. It’s not an easy task to do the first time so this remarkable.”

Tadashi was smiling awkwardly, trying his best to keep a bright smile from his face. He wasn’t used to praise.

He ran into Oikawa in the kitchen when he was rewarding himself with a cup of coffee.

“Coffee break?” he asked.

Oikawa nodded. “I have a meeting later so I’m recharging for a moment.”

Although he said he was “recharging” there were a bunch of documents on the desk in front of him.

Tadashi grabbed a cup – he had dared to bring his own cup now that he wasn’t just temporarily employed – and added a capsule to the coffee machine.  

“We have a lot of creative freedom for this project as long as we run it by the boss first,” Oikawa mentioned, “so if you have any ideas that could work well with what we’ve planned so far feel free to speak up. Have you read a bunch of books about marketing in university or just the ones the courses required?”

“I think I read one or two except for the required books, usually they were too expensive for any of us to buy,” Tadashi admitted while he poured some milk into his coffee. He watched it turn colour as he stirred it.

Oikawa nodded. “I have some books in my office that I often skim through when we’re trying to solve difficult issues, I could lend them to you if you want to.”

“Yes, of course I’d be happy to be able to read them.” He could use that to familiarize himself with their work and become a part of the team faster.

Oikawa left him after a glance at his watch but told him that he should remind him of the books again. Tadashi made another cup of coffee that he brought Yachi and then moved on to his work.

A book was lying on his desk the following day. It had a little note on it, saying that Oikawa was on a business trip for the next three days and that he was more than welcome to take the book home with him and read it in the meantime.

 

* * *

 

Tadashi was sitting at his desk in comfortable sweatpants. His suit was hanging on a hanger that he had put on the doorknob. He had learned his lesson and drawn the conclusion that ironing a mountain of shirts and pants wasn’t any fun.

The window was tilted and let a soft stream of cold air into the room. Tadashi ate some cereal – his favourite late night snack – and he read through the book. He was afraid that he’d spill some of the food but he was so hungry he had to eat something. The book was good. It was always helpful to revise a bit and the book had good advice, especially for starters in the industry. He enjoyed reading those parts and he took the one or another note when he came across something important.

Then there were Oikawa’s notes. Tadashi hadn’t thought much of the sticky notes that marked important pages but when he had opened the book for the first time a whole new abyss of stationery revealed itself. After a while Tadashi had figured out the system. Actually, it was written on a sticky note at the first page, but it had taken him half an hour to notice it so he considered it a find.

Green sticky notes meant “important”, yellow ones were “additional information” and red ones “summarization”.

Tadashi slowly put his cereal aside. He could never replace this if he spilled something on it.

Oikawa was on his business trip until Friday and would return in the late evening so Tadashi had almost a week to study the book. He was already tired out from getting up early in the morning and working all day, so he was tempted more than once to just give it back to Oikawa without reading it to the finish. Then again he couldn’t refuse such an offer. Everyone in their office had probably read it so this was essential for this work. This was the chance for improvement that he wanted.

On Monday they held a short meeting so everyone could report their progress to Oikawa. Tadashi lingered in the doorway after they were done, not sure if he was supposed to mention the book.

Oikawa noticed that he was the only one still in his office. “Was something unclear, Yamaguchi-san?”

“No, about the book…”

“You can keep it for longer, you can’t possibly finish reading it in a few days. Take your time.”

“Alright, thank you. So far I’ve been enjoying it, it’s a lot more insightful than most books we read in university.” Leaving Oikawa’s notes aside, it was a straightforward book, not unnecessarily complicating things with demanding vocabulary where it wasn’t needed.

He kept it for another week before he returned it. The deadline for their project was approaching and the atmosphere got progressively more tense. Their boss would often stop by and check how they were doing and if they were still on schedule. The plants in their office were letting their leaves hang down, an accurate representation of team’s state.

Tadashi came home late every night and even had to cancel his dinner plans with Tsukishima once because he was too tired.

They would have to present their results on Friday. It was Thursday afternoon and they weren’t close to being finished.

“Who had the idea to give us this unreasonable deadline,” grumbled Akaashi while he flipped through some documents, desperately looking for something. “We could do our work a lot better if we weren’t under such pressure.”

“Coffee time!” Oikawa interrupted them and carried a container from Starbucks with six coffees. Half a litre of coffee for each of them. “I came back from a meeting and thought we could all need a little energy boost.”

He placed one in front of each person. Tadashi drank it with a bittersweet feeling. It was nice that Oikawa brought them coffee but it also reminded him of the workload that they had to get through until the next day. Oikawa had meanwhile taken his desk and computer and moved it to their office so they had easier time working together. It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence since nobody bat an eyelash when he and Futakuchi suddenly appeared in their office, carrying Oikawa’s desk and placing it next to them.  

Akaashi was the first to be done with his work. The sun had set a long time ago.

“Does anyone of you need some help? There’s still time left until the last train leaves.”

“Go home, Akaashi-san. You deserve some rest, we’re almost done and Yamaguchi-san is being a big help already,” Ennoshita said.

Akaashi shrugged. “If you say so. Yachi-san, what about you?”

“I won’t need long. Seriously, you can go home,” she said with a weak smile.

It wasn’t long until she followed him and it was just Oikawa, Ennoshita, who was absentmindedly chewing on his pen, and Tadashi left in their office. They had opened a window so the cool air would refresh them. Tadashi wasn’t sure when he’d be able to go home, since he’d been acting as assistant to everyone and helped where he could.

His hands were already tired from typing when he sent Ennoshita the final summary he had been working on, waiting for further instructions.

“If this is done and won’t need another fix we’re done for today”, he said when he opened the document. Tadashi watched his eyes move from column to column, checking everything.

When he heard a sigh of relief Tadashi knew that they were done. He wouldn’t have to sleep in the office after all.

“It’s all right. We’re done.”

Ennoshita saved the data and closed the programs on his computer, then turned it off. He got up from his chair and stretched his arms. His perpetually sleepy expression was even more prominent and Tadashi wasn’t sure if he wouldn’t fall asleep in the train and miss his stop. He yawned and put his jacket on, but Tadashi wasn’t so quick to get ready to leave.

Ennoshita reported that he was done, and left after receiving the _‘Okay’_ from Oikawa to do so.

“Is there anything that I can help you with?” Tadashi asked as he watched Oikawa manoeuvre through the stacks of documents on his desk.

Oikawa shook his head. “It’s alright, you can head home.”

“Are you sure, I really don’t mind it since I’m already here. Don’t you want to go home today too?”

Oikawa looked up and blinked a few times. “I’m not forcing you to stay here but if you insist I could use your help. But don’t feel obligated to stay, this is way beyond what’s considered reasonable work hours.”

Tadashi shrugged and sat down at the chair in front of Oikawa’s desk. “Tell me what to do and I’ll try my best to help.”

Oikawa smiled. “Give me a moment, I ‘ll send you the first part of the proposal which needs to be proof-read.”

Tadashi checked the inbox of the internal email system and opened the document. Page count: 34. He chose this so there was no going back now.

He couldn’t recall a moment when it’s ever been this quiet at the office. Not a single footstep could be heard in the hallway, no random printer noises, even the white noise from multiple computers running at once was missing.

Oikawa left the room once, Tadashi assumed to go to the bathroom, and returned with glasses on his face. _“This is new,”_ Tadashi thought. He wondered how many people knew about that.  

Tadashi suppressed a yawn. _“Focus”,_ he scolded himself in his mind when he was zoning out again. He rubbed his eyes in the hopes of it waking him up.

He was more than halfway done when Oikawa got up from his chair again. Tadashi watched him slowly walk up to the window and leaning against it. He turned around and glanced at Tadashi. “Care for a break?” he asked and nodded with his head in the direction of the window.

“Taking a breather can’t hurt,” Tadashi agreed and kept him company at the window.

He copied Oikawa’s motion and leaned his forearms on the windowsill. Their elbows touched but neither of them moved their arms away.

Tadashi looked outside. They were on the third floor and had a view of the whole city. Despite being late the city was still busy and illuminated. The lights formed an even bigger contrast to the black sky than at daytime.

“I wonder where everyone is going, this late at night,” Oikawa said. His voice was a lot softer than usual, like he was just thinking out loud.

Tadashi closed his eyes and enjoyed the cold air on his face, playing with his hair. Maybe he could get some rest if he kept still for a few moments.

“Did you like the book that I gave you?”

Tadashi flinched and opened his eyes abruptly.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” Oikawa looked at him with big eyes.

“No, I was just momentarily nodding off,” he explained. “I enjoyed it. A lot.”

Oikawa smirked. “So you read it?”

“Of course, did you think I haven’t?”

“I didn’t doubt you, I was just surprised that you didn’t find it bothersome.”

Now it was Tadashi’s turn to look bewildered. “No, I found it very helpful. Especially your notes, they must’ve been a lot of work.”

Oikawa shrugged and looked outside again. “I can’t remember, I randomly started adding notes and somehow they took overhand. I need to get my thoughts out.”

“You don’t mind this work, do you?” Tadashi didn’t know where that question came from. It slipped out of his lips before he could think about what he was saying but to his surprise Oikawa laughed.

“I don’t. Why do you ask?”

Tadashi took that as an invitation to go on. “You leave later than anyone else and you’re here before everyone. I’ve also seen you take on the work of others when they were too busy or had to leave earlier.” Under normal circumstances he’d never speak this honest with someone older than him but the atmosphere felt right.

“Ouch, you’re exposing my bad habits all at once,” he laughed again. It was honest and clear, filling Tadashi with a light-heartedness that hit him completely unprepared.

He shook his head lightly to come back to his senses. “I think…we should get back to work, there’s not much left.”

Oikawa nodded and followed him back to the desk area. They continued until the last document was filled out and the concept was ready to be presented the next day.

“That’s it, we’re done,” Oikawa declared, tired but satisfied.

Tadashi smiled. He felt carefree as they walked down the empty hallways. They were done. His bed was waiting for him and he’d enjoy every second of the few hours of sleep that he’d get. He got in a taxi since the last train had already left, not caring how much it would cost, as long as he got home quickly.

 

* * *

 

The next day was tiring. They weren’t completely done yet. The presentation was the most nerve-wrecking part, it would decide whether their boss was content with what they had been working on or not.

The proposal went through.

As soon as their boss left Yachi hugged Akaashi, who was nearest to her, and then pulled everyone else into a group hug. They were all smiling and enjoyed that their hard work had paid off. Nothing could ruin Tadashi’s mood that day, and when Yachi proposed that they should all go out in the evening to celebrate, it reached a new high point.

They were all tired but that wouldn’t stop them from having a fun evening and celebrate their success. First they ordered something to eat, Tadashi decided to treat himself and ordered a big portion of food despite having leftovers from the day before waiting for him in the fridge, before they got drinks as well.

“Good job everyone, our proposal got accepted. The only rule for this is evening is no talk about work, we’re here to celebrate,” Oikawa said when their drinks arrived and they all clinked glasses.

“Are the drinks on you today?” Akaashi asked with a grin.

Oikawa sighed. “I can already tell that you won’t let me off the hook with this. Fine but it’s an exception today because it’s Yamaguchi’s first time being part of the team completing a project.” Everyone cheered.

“How does it feel to have the first concept you worked on getting accepted?” asked Ennoshita while he took generous sips of his drink.

Tadashi smiled. “Pretty good, to be honest. I didn’t imagine that it would go so smoothly today.”

Yachi nodded in agreement. “I was so worried that we might have to change everything again. I even forgot to water the plants for a few days.”

“So you’re the one taking care of the plants?” Tadashi asked with mild interest.

“Yes, they make the office a lot brighter and livelier. Do you like them?” She was flashing him a smile and soon Tadashi was in a deep conversation about botany. It was a very one-sided conversation with him listening and Yachi giving him a biology lecture, but she did it with such enthusiasm that he couldn’t help but enjoy it.

Ennoshita chimed in after a while and they went from plants to movies and TV-shows. It was carefree talk and their laughter increased with the amount of emptied drinks.

“I ordered us one more round of drinks but I think I’d be better to leave after that,” Tadashi suggested after a look at his watch. It was Friday but they had brought a long day behind them so they would be better off getting some sleep.

He got everyone’s approval, although only hesitantly, so they drank up and got ready to leave.

“Ennoshita-san, please don’t forget your jacket,” Akaashi said with a glance to Ennoshita who was ready to leave with just his shirt. It was still warm outside even at night, so it wasn’t necessary to wear a jacket, but it wouldn’t be good to leave something there.

Tadashi checked twice to make sure that he hadn’t forgotten anything, but his phone, keys and wallet were securely stored in his pockets.

Oikawa paid for their drinks but not without complaining the whole time until they had left the izakaya.

The air outside was like a soft curtain, carefully being laid over Tadashi’s face. He breathed out the smoky air from the bar and enjoyed the way his lungs filled with fresh air.

Tadashi wasn’t drunk to a point where he couldn’t walk, but he was feeling a light buzz. Enough alcohol to make the stars in the sky spin when he looked up and to give him a lightheaded feeling that reinforced the urge to do whatever came to his mind, no matter how reckless.

“In which direction are you going?” Oikawa asked him.

It turned out that the way he was going was the same direction Oikawa had to follow, while Ennoshita and Akaashi were living close to Yachi so they’d accompany her home to make sure she was alright.

It was just the two of them. They were walking side by side in silence, occasionally bumping their elbows together by accident. Tadashi blamed the small sidewalk even though there was more than enough space.  

“Do you need to go to the train station too?” Tadashi asked after a while.

“No, I live around the corner.”

“That’s close to work, so you don’t even need to take the trains that often.”

Oikawa shrugged. “I was pretty lucky to get an apartment that close to work but since it’s in the centre of the city it can get pretty loud.”

Tadashi nodded. He watched the cars passing them by. It was a busy street, even at night.

“I need to go left here,” Oikawa said when they came to a smaller alleyway.

He was already three steps ahead of Tadashi when he blurted something out on a whim. “Would you mind if I accompany you? I like to walk a bit after drinking, it helps me to clear my head,” Tadashi asked, already cursing his forwardness a second later.

Oikawa didn’t seem to mind it. He looked at him over his shoulder with a nonchalant smile. “Sure.”

Tadashi looked around. The noise of the street grew distant the further they walked, passing by apartment complexes. It was a tiny living area in the middle of the city.

“How much time do you have left until the last train leaves?” Oikawa asked while they followed the alley.

Tadashi glanced at his watch. “Ten minutes, I’ll make it for sure.”

“You like the work you do too, right?”

“I do. Does it look like I don’t?” Tadashi put his hands in his pockets.

Oikawa shook his head. “No, I assumed since you asked me yesterday about it that you had to feel the same way.”

“I signed a contract just a few weeks ago,” Tadashi mentioned but he got where Oikawa was coming from. He always felt an energy coming from him that he managed to pass on to everyone on the team.

Oikawa shrugged. “Not everyone works because they love what they do.”

Tadashi nodded and they continued walking. He didn’t know what it was but since they had entered the alley the atmosphere around them had changed. It was like he had accessed a more private part of Oikawa’s life. He couldn’t help but steal glances at him every now and then until his eyes caught Oikawa’s.

He regarded him with mild surprise and Tadashi quickly looked away, while his cheeks were heating up.

“So, here we are”, Oikawa said and stopped in front of a tall building.

“Alright…” Tadashi shifted his weight from one foot to the other, not sure what he was supposed to say. “I guess I’ll be on my way then.”

He looked at Oikawa, the smile on his face, the tousled hair, the perpetually rolled-up sleeves. Oikawa was staring right back at him and cocked his head to one side in question. Tadashi took a small step closer and when Oikawa didn’t back away but copied his move he leaned forward and kissed him. It was a soft, slow kiss. Tadashi felt one of Oikawa’s hands sneak around his neck but he didn’t pull him closer.

When they broke the kiss Tadashi didn’t know where to look. His mind had finally caught up with his actions and he was sure that his face was bright red.

“So…Do you want to stay over tonight?” Oikawa finally broke the silence, not looking half as embarrassed as Tadashi felt.

Tadashi’s eyebrows almost touched his hair line and he blinked a few times. “Ehm…w-well…I think that’s moving a bit fast. Not that I’m saying that I don’t want to…but…right now is a bit…”

Oikawa’s face had gotten equally red when he realized what Tadashi meant. “Oh! No, I didn’t want to suggest that. I meant because of the train! You won’t make it to the station in two minutes and you already had to pay for a taxi yesterday. I have a separate bed for guests.”  

“Oh…I misunderstood that, I’m sorry.” Tadashi wished the ground would open up and swallow him. He thought about his options for a moment but there would be no harm in staying over for one night. “I’ll take you up on that offer it it’s alright.”  

Oikawa recovered faster than him. He reached for the keys in his pocket and opened the door. “Alright then, it’s on the third floor.”

Tadashi was standing in Oikawa’s shower and washed the smell of alcohol and smoke away. He had kissed Oikawa. He had _kissed_ Oikawa. He buried his face in his hands.

This wasn’t just something that had happened as a result of being sleep-deprived and tipsy. At least not for him.

When he got out of the shower Oikawa had already laid out a guest futon on the floor. He hopped in the shower right after him and Tadashi already worried about what he was going to say when he came back. Everything smelled like Oikawa, his hair, his shirt, his blanket. And as if that wasn’t distraction enough, he was so tired he had trouble thinking clearly and staying awake while he sat on the soft blanket.

He wasn’t the only one having those thoughts because when he returned Oikawa’s words were “First sleep and then we’ll talk tomorrow?” which Tadashi could only agree with wholeheartedly.

 

* * *

 

When Tadashi woke up the next morning Oikawa’s bed was empty. He found him on the balcony, glasses on his face and a newspaper in his hand. Breakfast was right in front of him at the table.

He looked up when he heard Tadashi’s footsteps and gave him an encouraging smile. Tadashi stepped outside, wearing one of Oikawa’s old shirts, and sat down.

“Mornin’,” Oikawa said. “Breakfast?”

“Good morning,” Tadashi replied. He wasn’t sure how Oikawa felt about this but his gut told him that he wouldn’t be in this apartment, getting served breakfast, if he didn’t care.

The two cups of coffee on the table and their knees touching under the table was all the reassurance he needed.  

**Author's Note:**

> Oiyama is my favourite rarepair so I was really excited when I saw that it was one of the ships you requested!! I love their dynamic and how equally driven they are. I hope it wasn't too long of a read and you enjoyed it, I had a lot of fun writing it~  
> I tried my best to keep the setting as realistic as possible but most of my information is purely from the internet, so please bear with me if you notice anything that's inherently not japanese (feel free to tell me in the comments though, i'd love to improve that in future fics!)


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